Rawalpindi (Web Desk): Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar has said that any attempt to link the release of Indian pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman with anything other than Pakistan’s mature response as a responsible state is “disappointing” and “misleading”.
“A statement was given yesterday which tried to distort the history of issues associated with national security,” said Pak Army’s media wing chief while addressing a press conference on Thursday.
Iftikhar said he sought to “correct the record” regarding the events surrounding February 27 — the day Pakistan Air Force downed two Indian planes and captured an Indian pilot — and Pakistan’s subsequent decision to release him as a humanitarian gesture.
The ISPR chief’s statement come a day after former National Assembly speaker and PML-N leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, during a session of the Lower House, accused the PTI government of releasing Abhinandan in capitulation, fearing an imminent attack from India.